The little boy, Kaleb Ahles, got into the front seat of the family car while his parents were carrying boxes during their move to a new house in Tarpon Springs.

'I don't think anybody can punish these parents any more than what they've been punished'

Kaleb was alone in the car and came upon the gun in the car’s cubby hole, sheriff Bob Gualtieri of the Pinellas district sheriff’s office said during a media conference on Wednesday night. He said the child picked up the gun, turned it towards his chest and pulled the trigger.

His parents heard the bang and ran to the car, the police reported. The boy’s mother, Christina Nigro, immediately applied artificial respiration while a relative who was there to help with the move, called 911.

Police arrived at the house before 5 pm on Wednesday and an ambulance rushed Kaleb to a nearby hospital.

Bob confirmed at a media conference that the child had shot himself and hadn’t been shot by anyone else, the Miami Herald reported.

The sheriff said it appeared no crime had been committed and the parents wouldn’t be charged.

"I don't think anybody can punish these parents any more than what they've been punished," he said.